AtlasMD Touts Allied National

allied

He founded the Wichita direct-care medical practice more than six years ago ……. He cited Allied National Inc. in Overland Park as an example of an insurance company whose profit margins have increased by incorporating the Atlas model………….

AtlasMD founder featured on Fox News program

Mar 8, 2017, 11:19am CST

Josh Heck ReporterWichita Business Journal

Dr. Josh Umbehr continues to garner national attention for his insurance-free approach to medicine.

Umbehr, the founder of Wichita-based AtlasMD, was a guest on the Fox News program The Sean Hannity Show Tuesday evening to discuss the business and how it can be used to drive change within health care.

Dr. Josh Umbehr, the founder of Wichita-based AtlasMD, was a guest on the Fox News… more

Umbehr said direct primary care provides real solutions that could be enacted to help Americans and drive down health care costs.

“We don’t take insurance,” Umbehr said on the program.” “We don’t need insurance for the common things.”

At Atlas, patients pay a monthly membership fee — from $10 to $100 per month. Members have access to doctors in person, by phone or through social media channels.

Patients don’t pay co-pays and aren’t charged extra for office visits. Medications typically cost “pennies on the pill,” Umbehr told Hannity.

Imaging often is done at a lower cost through the Atlas model as well.

Umbehr said an X-ray, for example, might cost an Atlas member $20 to $40 including radiology reads versus $100 or so at other clinics. Similar services might cost $500 to $1,000 through a hospital emergency room, Umbehr said.

Hannity, who long has been a supporter of Umbehr and his business, said the doctor is a person whom everyone in Congress should know.

Umbehr has told the Wichita Business Journal on multiple occasions the direct care movement has generated some momentum in recent years, and the goal is to continue to push that in the weeks and months ahead.

He founded the Wichita direct-care medical practice more than six years ago as a way to bypass insurance companies. He advocates for health insurance to cover catastrophic events, however.

He told Hannity Tuesday the model can help employers save money on their health insurance plans, making that type of coverage more affordable.

He cited Allied National Inc. in Overland Park as an example of an insurance company whose profit margins have increased by incorporating the Atlas model.

The WBJ has recognized Umbehr for his work on multiple occasions, including the 2016 Health Care Heroes awards.